Real Madrid, led by Raúl González after the departure of Dani Poyatos to Panthinaikos, broke down the wall of the semi-finals of the Youth Champions League with a narrow victory against Salzburg (2-1) and will fight next Tuesday with Benfica for the continental title.
On three occasions the semifinal had been an insurmountable obstacle for the Whites. In 2014, 2016 and 2017 he resisted him and was left out of the final match. Finally, with the legend Raúl on the bench, the Madrid team was able to make the leap towards the final next Tuesday, in which it will meet another of the best schools in the world, the benfiquista, which previously left Ajax on the account by a resounding 3-0.
After overcoming the tremendous pitfalls of Juventus and Inter, he needed to beat a Salzburg that showed its potential in lower-level football. He was proclaimed continental champion in 2017 and this time he posed a tough battle against Real Madrid and brushed off the clear advantage with which Raúl’s team came to rest.
1
Salzburg
Antosch, Dedic, Affengruber, Okoh (Aigner, m.46), Gazibegovic, Sucic, Pokorny (Sesko, m.82), Seiwald (Stosic, m.65), Kjaergaard (Reischl, m.46), Adeyemi (Prass, m.86) y Adamu.
2
Real Madrid
Fuidias, Sergio Santos, Pablo Ramón, Chust, Miguel Guitérrez, Antonio Blanco, Morante, Marvin Park (Óscar Aranda, m.69), Arribas (Carrillo, m.85), Dotor and Latasa (Pablo Rodríguez, m.71).
- goals:
0-1, m.4: Latasa. 0-2, M.32: Miguel Gutiérrez. 1-2, M.50: Sucic, penalty.
- referee:
Pavel Orel (Czech Republic). He admonished Okoh, Seiwald, Gazibegovic, Latasa, Aigner, Adamu, Dotor and Affengruber.
- incidents:
Second semi-final of the Youth Champions League played at the Colovray stadium in Nyon behind closed doors.
An error by central Okoh in the dismissal of his goalkeeper, perfectly exploited by Marvin Park and culminated by Juanmi Latasa, set the game for the Madridistas. The goal strengthened his approach against a nervous Austrian team behind and without resources in attack.
Sergio Arribas, a great figure in the wins in the eighth and quarterfinals, touched the second goal. But the one who found him, just after half an hour, was Miguel Gutiérrez, the left-back, with a low shot, to which Daniel Antosch could not respond after brushing the ball in David Affegruber.
The 2-0 was the just reward for the tactical and technical superiority of the team dressed in pink in this semifinal at the Colovray stadium. The game was in his hand, although Salzburg still promised a fight at halftime. And he fulfilled. A penalty for a push by Sergio Santos on Karim Adeyemi fueled the hopes of Matthias Jaissle’s block.
Luka Sucic did not miss such a great opportunity and with almost the entire second half ahead, Salzburg returned to the game. He pressed insistently against an increasingly ‘aculated’ Real Madrid in his area that went less and less towards the rival area.
However, he knew how to warm himself up, closed spaces with tremendous solidarity. Raúl had to relieve Marvin and Latasa, who had made a tremendous wear, but not even so the boys of Jaissle could find gaps of guarantees to force the tie. Real Madrid endured well, which, despite the suffering, was finally able to celebrate the move to their first final of the Youth ‘Champions’.
The worst thing for Raúl will be the absence of his great reference in attack, Latasa, who will miss the match due to the accumulation of cautions. The ‘9’ is a vital player in the Madrid coach’s scheme, both in his offensive side and in his defensive contribution.
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